Qantas frequent flyers and Qantas Club members will enjoy access to a wider range of Alaska Airlines lounges following an upgrade of the partnership between the Flying Kangaroo and the Seattle-based carrier.

From today, Qantas Frequent Flyer members with Gold, Platinum or Platinum One status, along with Qantas Club card-holders, can use Alaska's Board Room lounges in Seattle, Portland and Anchorage – provided they are travelling on an Alaska flight which connects to or from a Qantas international flight.

This will be especially welcome for Qantas travellers darting between Los Angeles and Seattle: while they've enjoyed Board Room access at LAX, there's been no such arrangement ahead of the return trip from Seattle.

In return, Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan MVP Gold and MVP Gold 75K members, along with Alaska Lounge members, will see the doors swing open at all Qantas-operated international business lounges and Australia-wide domestic Qantas Club lounges when booked on a Qantas flight.

Qantas is also adding its QF flight number to four new Alaska Airlines routes between San Francisco and Orange County, Minneapolis, Albuquerque and Kansas City – as well as its service between Los Angeles and San Jose – as part of the expanded codeshare arrangement.